Military Lighters - All eras all brands

[mtnman]

2 hours ago, Cobra 6 Actual said:

Ronson lighter:

The engraving is beautiful! What a splendid lighter! Sounds like that might have been a pilot's Light em up Go to! Well done as always Cobra!

[Cobra 6 Actual]

Thanks, guys! I don’t think I’ve posted this nomenclature of a zippo before:

 

[yokota57]

US Army / 759th Tank Battalion "Prepared to Strike". Henry Kaserne. Munich, West Germany 1954-1956. "C" Company, 759th Tank Bn "hull art" on an M-47 via usarmygermany.com. Japanese-made "Vulcan".

[Cobra 6 Actual]

Another excellent lighter, yokota57! Hey, I meant to pass along this Ronson “help needed” request:

I think you are clearly the expert on these … and more.

[Cpl. Punishment]

Here’s one of my only zippo’s. Given to me directly (along with the vet’s TF-116 beret) by the veteran. 
 

To a plank owner of River Division 593. 
 

[Cobra 6 Actual]

Wow, that is a truly nice one, Cpl. Punishment!

[Cpl. Punishment]

21 minutes ago, Cobra 6 Actual said:

Wow, that is a truly nice one, Cpl. Punishment!

Thank you! I don’t collect zippo’s exactly, but as a gift from the veteran, it doesn’t get any better! 

[Cobra 6 Actual]

You’re right! You’ve got the whole package: authentic lighter, a photo, the beret with badge, and the pin. The only thing that could possibly add to this is if you could get a copy of his DD-214.

[mtnman]

3 hours ago, Cpl. Punishment said:

Here’s one of my only zippo’s. Given to me directly (along with the vet’s TF-116 beret) by the veteran. 

Absolutely fantastic! What an incredible piece of history. Thank you so much for sharing CP.

[yokota57]

12 minutes ago, mtnman said:

Absolutely fantastic! What an incredible piece of history. Thank you so much for sharing CP.

+1  Ichi-Ban !!!!

[Cpl. Punishment]

6 hours ago, mtnman said:

Absolutely fantastic! What an incredible piece of history. Thank you so much for sharing CP.

Thanks all! Glad I can share! Ive heard this is quite a hard lighter to find. I don’t have his DD-214, but I have quite a few write-ups by him and photos from overseas. Also have a photo of him wearing his beret today for provenance!

[easterneagle87]

Is this a military contractors themed lighter? ERCO, Flightronics

[Cobra 6 Actual]

Used by the Navy. See page 22, the “Twin-Engine Flight Trainer” column of this 1953 “Radio-Electronic Engineering” magazine: https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Electronic-Engineering/Radio-Electronic-Engineering-1953-02.pdf

[Cpl. Punishment]

On 5/7/2024 at 6:38 AM, Cpl. Punishment said:

Here’s one of my only zippo’s. Given to me directly (along with the vet’s TF-116 beret) by the veteran. 
 

To a plank owner of River Division 593. 
 

Not to troll this thread, but I wanted to add some provenance to this zippo. I took the advice of @Cobra 6 Actual and asked the veteran where the lighter came from, and if he carried it on his patrols. The veteran told me one of the patrol officers, Lt. Wright, had the zippos made for each of the plankowners when RivDiv 593 was formed - he thinks they were made in Saigon. The veteran also added that the zippo was with him both times he was wounded. 

[Cobra 6 Actual]

Excellent additional information, Cpl. Punishment!

[Cpl. Punishment]

2 hours ago, Cobra 6 Actual said:

Excellent additional information, Cpl. Punishment!

Thank you, again, for the advice! I have printed off photos of him that I have and wrote next to the ones he explained to me. Including photos of the beret he put on social media for provenance since the beret itself is not named; it’s unique enough with the hard to find 593 pin.

[yokota57]

US Army / C Company, 1st Battalion, 11th Infantry Regiment RVN '69-'70. This one belonged to "Don". Japanese-made "Vulcan".

[Cobra 6 Actual]

Whoa, Yokota57, that’s a great score! Congratulations!

[yokota57]

1 hour ago, Cobra 6 Actual said:

Whoa, Yokota57, that’s a great score! Congratulations!

If someone in "Forum-Land" has a C Co 1stBN 11th IR roster from '69-'70 we might be able to pinpoint "Don". 

[Cobra 6 Actual]

 

 

[dskjl]

Had this one lying about for ages, never been out of the box, never really gave it much thought until I read this thread again which sent on the hunt to dig it out.
 

[Cobra 6 Actual]

Cool one, dskjI. You know you can go to the Zippo website and use the provided date codes to determine the year of manufacture:

https://www.zippo.com/pages/date-codes

[dskjl]

Thanks for the link, it’s a little tough to follow but based on the box, paperwork being pre USAF, and the zippo website it looks like 1945 to 1950 or because of the lack of USAF listed as a model on the paper work it looks like it maybe 1945 to 47.

 

feedback welcomed 

[Cobra 6 Actual]

Cool. The more of that kind of information you can figure out now, the more complete your lighter’s history will be. And since it sounds like you have the lighter with some other military documents having the ‘backstory’ helps to connect it all together.

[yokota57]

1 hour ago, dskjl said:

Thanks for the link, it’s a little tough to follow but based on the box, paperwork being pre USAF, and the zippo website it looks like 1945 to 1950 or because of the lack of USAF listed as a model on the paper work it looks like it maybe 1945 to 47.

 

feedback welcomed 

Post a clear pic of the base stamp and the hinge barrels. The INCREDIBLY CLEAN B&W striped box dates to 1949-1950.